Most of us have been close by a hair to that assignment deadline to have the computer just die, leaving us in the lurch and regretting we haven’t started earlier. As a technologist I have countless horror stories with no happy ending.  So here are some computer myths that we’d love to dispel.

Myth #1: The Qwerty keyboard is the most efficient way to type. The traditional keyboard, known as ‘Qwerty’ because of the arrangement of the first six letters, strikes a balance between efficiency and longevity. But some people prefer the Dvorak keyboard, which keeps vowels together along the centre row and reduces finger movement.

Myth #2: Private/incognito browsing mode keeps your computer activity anonymous. While privacy tools might keep others with access to your computer (spouse, office mates, friends and kids) from seeing where you have surfed, they don’t prevent your Internet Service Provider or the sites you visit from tracking you. While various tech tools and private search engines can increase your privacy, it is important to know that your online keystrokes might some day come back to haunt you should your browsing record be hacked or exposed by a legal action.

Myth #3: Do not recharge laptop batteries until they are almost dead. Once upon a time, the common wisdom was that batteries lose their ability to retain an electrical charge if they are recharged before they are drained down to zero. This applied to nickel-cadmium batteries, but it doesn’t apply to today’s lithium-ion batteries. It’s actually best to keep your device between 40-80 per cent charged, and that means not letting it drain to zero per cent.